Artichokes!

s4lvatore

This is gonna sound like a reall noob question, but been looking around online and as it was just confusing me thought I would check in here to get a straight forward answere.

How do they grow? I have they grow like potatoes but I am sure I have seen them grow above ground. Am I going crazy here?

s4lvatore

Ok thanks to youtube I now get the difference between globe and jerusealum, feel a bit thick actually, lol.

Has anyone here grown globe or other above ground artichokes before, any luck? How big do the plants get?

macma

Jerusalem artichokes are simple to grow ,once you've got them you won't get rid of them trust me we've tried.
There are other artichokes that grow like a giant thistle but they are completely different plants.
Jerusalems are a member of the sunflower family ,I think in the U.S.they are called sunchokes.
We just planted half a dozen and ignored them.We dug them as we needed them,that's one of the good things about them they prefer to sit in the ground all weathers.Problem is we don't like them very much and have spent the last few years trying to dig them out :eek:

macma

Globe artichokes grow huge plants for ,in my opinion, little return but if you like 'em have a go ,I don't know much about them sorry.

valk_scot

I've grown globe artichokes before and they were pretty disappointing but it's very dependant on the variety I belive. It's better to take a slip (ie a side growth) from an established plant that's proven to produce big chokes rather than try to grow them from seed. I got rid of mine a few years back when I remodelled that bit of the allotment but this year I did have the urge to try again. I bought some seed that promised miracles (don't they all?) and now have five good healthy plants of about 60cm across. They do take up a lot of space...about a square meter each when full grown. I'll let you know next year how well they produce.

I've got the Jerusalem ones as well btw. Tried two about ten years ago and now I can't get rid of the !!!!!!s. I don't even like them much.

amcluesent

Which ones cause appalling flatulence?

Miró

amcluesent wrote: »

Which ones cause appalling flatulence?

Jerusalem! :rotfl:

They do make scrummy soup tho:o

jollyanna

I've put my Jerusalems in a potato growing bag this year and they have zoomed away- about 7foot now but no flower yet, just like last year.
I heard Alys fowler calling them "Fartichokes" on her veg growing series and I'd guess it just refers to the Jerusalems. Mine are the less nobbly type, Fues or something sounding like that. Make great soup. I used to grow globes but they became so overwhelming in the space they took up that I hacked them all out.

adouglasmhor

Years ago I stayed at a bothy in the highlands which had been an estate cottage and still had Jerusalem artichokes growing outside it. 20 years after it had been abandoned as a dwelling. We pulled up loads.

cjb02

Mir! wrote: »

Jerusalem! :rotfl:

They do make scrummy soup tho:o

do you have a recipe for making soap?

rosie383

I have 2 beautiful and very big globe artichokes growing in my garden. They have about 6 small globes growing on them, but I don't know what to do with them. I ask because I noticed on the allotment that someone who grows them, seems to have removed the leaves from around the globes. I can't find the person to ask, as they never seem to be there when I am.
Does anyone know if I need to do this, and if so, why?